Accurate Wind Turbine Annual Energy Computation by Advanced Modeling

Renewable energy is the ultimate goal for mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions and for national energy sufficiency. Optimal renewable power plant design is best accomplished by taking into account the annualized statistical wind power availability. In this paper, the annual energy has been accurately computed for a wind turbine (WT) by an advanced modeling, taking into account the characteristics of the WT and the environment. Accounting for the parameters affecting the output energy, is implemented in order to correctly model the system. This helps in monitoring the power generation and sizing of the wind farm. Mainly, two scenarios are discussed. First, accuracy of WT modeling when the wind speed only affects the output power. Second, accuracy of air density modeling, among the many parameters affecting the WT output power, such as wind speed, power coefficient, elevation above sea level, temperature, pressure, and humidity. It is shown that accurate modeling has a considerable impact on the computed annual energy extracted from a single WT, and thus, the whole wind farm. This will have a major impact on the sizing of the wind farm, and hence, affects the net present cost of the entire system.